paycheck pressure. the president ratchets up the minimum wage debate. in today's cover story... volkswagen workers in the u.s. face pushback while attempting to unionize. plus.... chick-fil-a chooses a more "natural" path ....will other fast food chains follow? and...why the lego movie is stacking up rave reviews! first business starts now! you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas good morning! it's thursday, february 13th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: a wintery mix hits wall street. people along the east coast, are dealing with the fallout from winter storm pax.this is one scene from raliegh north carolina. in washington the senate banking committee postponed today's hearing with

new federal reserve chair janet yellen due to weather.and, even the stock market appears to have hit the pause button. stocks and commodities staged muted action wednesday... following yesterday's wild rally. in earnings after hours.. cisco shares fell 4%. cisco topped on earnings but cutting its sales outlook. whole foods stock fell 6% in heavy trading after slicing its full year outlook. a shakeup at verizon will effect 3,000 workers. they will be shifted around to different jobs and offices as verizon reorganizes. bloomberg new reports time warner and apple are in talks about a tv device and sears is offering online shoppers curbside pick up while they wait in their cars. todd horwitz of average joe options joins us on the show today. good to see your smiling face. >>what's up. >>it's been a great year so far for the stock market. i know a lot of traders are watching what's happening in washington. we finally got this debt deal

done. what do you think is likely to happen with the stock market? >>i think the stock market is going to be a little rocky this year and we've had a rocky start although we've recovered in the last few days. i think what you have to look at is mid term elections typically create some selling pressure and the market is certainly fairly valued if not slightly over valued here. i would expect some rocky times and a continuation of that correction that we started last week. however i do see a rally coming towards the end of the year. >>give us a crash course. you know what happened in 1929. are we on that same track? >>there's a lot of people that will say that and certainly i agree that the chart pattern equates to 1929 and 1987 but the difference now is i think we'll get a real solid correction. but as far as another crash because we now have the fed fully invested and fully involved, i think they will temper any major stock market crash. however, a big correctiopn could still be done. we're looking at 15-25%. >>thank you todd horwitz. >>thank you. another sigh of relief from

washington to wall street.. as the senate votes to approve the house bill extending the borrowing limit through march, 2015. the bill has no strings attached and is on the way to the president. it's a rare sign of congressional cooperation with the 55 voting yes and and 43 no. here's chuck coppola with a report on a critical vote for automakers.. volkswagen's slogan "das auto" is being overshadowed by das vote.more than 15-hundred auto workers at the automaker's plant in chattanooga are voting whether to have the united auto workers represent them.as our cover story explains, some think this would open the door for the uaw at other foreign - owned car plants in the south. at the heart of the vote at volkswagen's plant open just three years in chattanooga is the establishment of what the company calls "work councils." "where labor aand management meet and discuss ways to improve the plant."

but u-s labor law requires employees to vote on whether they want a union to represent them in these councils. it's to prevent such a forum from becoming overly pro-management. if the union wins, it would be the first foreign-owned auto plant in the u-s to unionize. perhaps only the first one. "the uaw is already working on mercedes and on nissan in mississippi." and that's where opponents have drawn a line in the tennessee sand. they include tennessee's governor bill haslam and u.s. senator bob corker. "we've had several businesses that have told us if the uaw come in, it would dampen their enthusiasm for tn." senator corker's comments at a news conference this week, came from this edited video posted online by the chattanooga times free press. "it's something that would hurt the standard of living of people here in tn, because businesses are not going to want to locate here." and opposition has grown. "some billionaire conservatives

such as americans for tax reform, grover norquist's group are taking out ads saying, don't do this." the voting in chattanooga concludes friday evening football players at northwestern university are moving the ball forward in their effort to form a union. the case could have larger implications for college athletes.players for the wildcats filed a union election petition with the national labor relations board january 28th.it's the first from a college sports team seeking union protection.at an nlrb hearing yesterday-- an attorney representing the university argued athletes are students not employees.the player's attorney contends the school generates huge revenues from their work. as the winter weather grips much of the nation....home depot is springing ahead. the retailer is adding 80 thousand employees for what it calls its "peak hiring season" home depot is benefiting from the recovery in the housing market.. and, is encouraging students, retirees, veterans and reservists to apply. home depot shares are up 17% for the past year.

amazon is hiring 2,500 full- time workers for warehouses in virginia, kansas, south carolina, washington and tennessee.meanwhile--ubs is cutting the price target on the stock from $450 to $375.the firms survey--finds a majority of online shoppers will renew their prime status for the current $79 fee, but are less likely if amazon increases the fee by up to $40 dollars. the stock dropped $12 dollars wednesday. some federal workers are getting a raise. president obama issued an executive order yesterday, to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors to 10.10 an hour, up from the current 7.25.the changes start in january, 2015. the president then urged congress to raise wages across the nation. "we gotta make sure that the economy rewards hard work for every american. making hard work pay off, with economic security and decent wages, benefits, iis what we're about here today."

the president says higher wages are good for workers and the economy. critics say it will cost jobs, because it will force employers to cut staff. the increasing problem of long- term unemployment, particularly among workers over 50 is contributing to a rise in depression. "it impairs your ability to seek work and it's a continuing downward spiral. the good news we can treat it and get them back in the game." among those depressed but still at work, it's estimated that the disorder costs american business 80-billion dollars in lost productivity. also out of washington...the senate homeland security and government affairs committee considered ways to mitigate the high cost of severe weather from droughts out west, to hurricanes in the east and this seasons wicked winter. .by staying ahead of the storms.. i drove across salt because they're waiting for snow to fall to melt it. in alaska, that would be unheard of. i'm afraid that if we have an over-reliance on the federal government help, is that restraining the mitigation? congress approved $60 billion in spending in the after math of super storm sandy.

bitcoin prices are on the decline in light of new technical troubles. it follows a hack attack at "bitstamp" the world's largest bitcoin exchange.bitstamp said hackers flooded the site with traffic. it is currently fixing its system and says that no funds have been lost or are at risk. another major bitcoin exchange -- mt gox, halted withdrawals on friday after it's own technical troubles. the website for the world's largest casino operator --was down yesterday after hackers showed employee's social security numbers on the site. reports suggest the las vegas sands cyber breach may have been politically motivated. the ceo sheldon adelson made disparaging comments about iran last october in a jewish newspaper. an investigation is underway. toyota is recalling over a million newer generation prius hybrids due to a software glitch. the models affected were made between march of 2009 and february of 20-14. the recall covers 1.9 million cars total: 713 thousand from north america.about half are in japan, and the rest in europe. toyota says it will adjust a software setting in those vehicles, which has the potential to cause damage from overheating. sir richard branson has high hopes for his brand. the multi billion dollar man is planning to take his airline-- virgin

america-- public thie year.the company has no comment on its ipo plans. but the air carrier has two profitable quarters in its wake.yesterday, specialty pharamceutical company flexion therapeutics gained (13%) in its stock market debut.shares closed at $14.71. shares trade on the nasdaq under ticker symbol f-l-x-n. on the earnings front... spending on construction and farming equipment lifted deere and company's profits. the company exceeded wall street's expectation as revenues rose 3% to 7.7 billion.the ceo called it a record quarter and says the company is starting 20-14 on strong note.but, he predicts, global demand will slow the rest of the year. chick-fil-a plans to serve up antibiotic free chicken. antibiotics meant to keep animals healthy.concerns have been raised by the fda, the drugs can lead to an antibiotic resistant bacteria in animals and humans. food activists predict other chains may follow the pecking

order... "this is really springing awarness and it's an amazing awareness that's occuring. and now, with chickfila's annoucment of them switching to antibiotic free chicken within 5 years other fast food giants will take notice. kfc, burger king, mcdonalds, wendys...all of these places are going to have to adapt to keep up with this changing enviornment." that was blogger vani hari, who has launched petitions against subway and kraft. both companies nixed questionable ingrediants following public pressure. ding dongs and twinkies will soon sell at a discount. big lots will stock shelves with the sweet treats now that hostess thrift outlets have been closed.hostess filed for bankruptcy and liquidated assets in 20-12. a private firm put the twinkies brand back on the market last july.the owner of big lots suggests shopping early and often for twinkies. on the other side of the coin-- prada is showing leadership in the luxury market. the italian

fashion giant-- projects sales for 2013 were up 9% to $4.8 bllion. prada is enjoying a significant increase in retail sales from asia and the u.s.the ceo says the company is making new investments in italy to improve production. h&m is moving to india. the retailer will open it's first store ever there this year. h&m still makes the majority of it's profit in europe, but is currently looking to expand, not only in india, but to the phiippines and australia, also. still to come: despite a slide in earnings, a trader puts his faith in cisco systems. plus... the return of the trilogy. which film studio is trying to get you hooked. and, corporate image makeover, why a few small changes can go a long way. that's next with bill moller!

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the word brand. it's become a buzz word. but what gives a brand prominence & staying power - a logo, a company's advertising or social media profile - something about a company's image or identity that it pushes out?the answer is explored in the terrific new book, what great brands do: the 7 brand- building principles that separate the best from the rest. written by denise lee yohn, a marketing consultant who also writes a top marketing blog. in a nutshell what is it that gives a brand staying power and impact. >>a great brand is expressed through things like a logo or tagline or advertising. but great brands conceive of their brands as drivers of their

business. they make them strategies that they implement in everything that they do. >>a lot of companies think that it's about pushing it out therei gotta get into social media and get that brand out to the public. >>social media is a great way to generate awareness but if you don't have anything behind thatif you don't have real values and attributes that differentiate you then you can talk all the time but it won't translate to results. >>who is doing it correctly out there? >>there are a lot of examples. the usuals are starbucks, nike---but patagonia is a brand that i would point out as doing something very special. they have designed their business around their brand so that they are really making an emotional connection with people and at the same time doing good for the environment and the business community. >>a lot of companies say we have to adopt these kinds of things because it would be popular. but it has to be a core culture. there has to be complete buy in with the executive team. >>there has to be buy in and there has to be integrity behind what they're doing. so it's not just something they say or to make up for the bad things they do. it really needs to be a part of the way they do businesswhat they really value. >>what is ikea doing correctly in your view? >>ikea's whole brand is about making products accessible to

people. so that's why their price is always so low and they design the whole supply chain so that every product is priced low, the cost to make the product is very low, the way they ship it to the stores is very low. the way you shop for it in the store makes the prices low and therefore accessible to everyone. >>so it sounds like a company has to figure out what is their differentiator and build a brand around that. >>absolutely. so it's not about what do i want to say about myself. it's what do we want to stand for as a business. >>do you think more and more companies are getting that these days? >>i hope so. the ones that you read abouteveryone from the shake shack burger and shake chain in new york to chobani yogurtthose up and coming brands who have gotten to be so popular and successful it's because they're doing just that. >>denise lee yohn thank you so much. >>thank you. bill this next story may have a familiar ring... good technology reports 132 million people use their personal smartphones on the job.that number is expected to almost double by 20-17. companies, in turn, are now starting to use more mobile apps at the office

coming up...a trader moves money into a stock that's been on the outs with wall street.and after the break. lego love. why audiences can't get enough of the quirky animated feature film.

i'm going to pass chemistry, and i'll take it from there. i'm going to do what makes me happy. i'm going to work hard. be independent. live large. make the most of every opportunity. i knew i wanted to go to college. but figuring out how to pay for it? i didn't have a clue. the u.s. department of education has over $100 billion. and that's a lot of money. to help students pay for college. and the free application?

you mean the fafsa. i did it online. it was easy. i'm never giving up on my goals. i will make a difference. i'm going to find out how to pay for college. i'm going to college.gov.

buzz is building around lego movie. and our critic calls it "brilliant". joining us now-- erik childress our movie man. let's go on lego-- why is just about everyone loving this film? >>because it is just absolute joy. from the first minute to the last minutei laughed hard. it took me to places that unexpectedly moved me. the word of mouth on this thing is going to be tremendous. you're going to see this go over 200 million. >>it's already getting great marks on rotten tomatoes96%. so critics love it and the

audiences love it. >>it's a movie that has a great message for both kids and adults. adults my age who grew up with legosthis is a toy set that's been around for ages. everyone is going to have something to pull away from this movie. it's full of pop culture references. it's just a wonderful time at the movies. we haven't had that in animation in a while. >>it's amazing they could do that with plastic blocks. >>it's one of the fastest moving animated films i've seen in some time. >>here's what happened at the box office last weekend now lionsgate is looking for the next big thing and already the hunger games has brought huge success to the film studio. the motion picture revenues up 12% help the stock last week with earnings coming outwhat's ahead for lionsgate? >>they had a real banner year

last year. the hunger games: catching fire was the biggest film of 2013. it grossed over $400 million. it outgrossed the original even. now they have the film divergent which is coming out in march. the ceo announced that they are getting into the franchise business and the sequel business. they have a sequel to now you see me. so there are a lot of eyes on divergent this year to see if this is going to be the next franchise to break through. if you look at last year there were a lot of flopsincluding one from lionsgate. enders game was a huge flop from last yearbeautiful creatures, mortal instrumentsand you just had one this weekendvampire academy. there are 6 books in that series and the film's not even gonna make $10 million here in the u.s. let's move forward to this weekend. i'm not a fan of this list >>you have to say 2014, because those first 3 films are remakes of 1980's films. it is 80's remake week. it's valentine's week at the box office and the only one i've seen so far is

winter's tale. it's a weird little movie for the valentine's day crowd. but i think robocop and about last night could battle it out for the number 2 slot. we'll see if kevin hart still has that ride along steam that has been building. but the lego movie is going to take number one very easily this weekend. >>for these 2014 films, the bar is set high. >>they are. robocop is one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time so their work is certainly cut out for them. and i hear there's a lot of tasing going on in the film. >>thank you erik. >>thank you. still ahead --cisco systems stock shock. after a sell off last night will traders buy or sell today..

who better to have on our show this morning to talk about cisco systems than matt cavanaugh of cmz trading. good morning matt. >>good morning. >>i say that because you bought the stock in the extended trading hours last night as the stock was heading lower. are you feeling confident about that purchase today? >>i am. the expectations coming into this earnings weren't really great for cisco. and the 23 level has really been resistant. so i think that when they didn't blow it out of the water people were like there's not a lot of good things going on here. but i think that there are good things going on. >>what do you like? >>the company is in really good financial position. they increased their quarterly dividend so there are some

issues here. emerging markets have been an issue. all of this stuff we have known about. so as cisco moves forward i think they're gonna pay you nicely to wait and they are really a good company with good management and if given time i think will execute on their plan. >>cisco also has not moved with the rest of the market very well. >>it hasn't. it hasn't really been a loved stock. it didn't really advance last year with the rest of them and i think that's another reason why i felt pretty confident doing it because a lot of the other stocks have been bit up and this is one that hasn't been bit up. it looks pretty attractive from an earnings valuation. it's got a nice yield. and the company's in good shape. >>thank you matt. we will track that trade with you. >>thank you. that's it for now. coming up tomorrow-it's traders unplugged! find out why our trading pros are making a love connection with mcdonalds... from all of us at first buisness... have a great thursday..

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